Katie's Party
by JessicaRose142
Summary: Nick's little sister, Katie, is having a birthday party.  Nick invites his boyfriend, Jeff, over to keep him company.  Rated T for slashyness  don't like, don't read  and suggestive material  light .
1. Prologue

_**So! Here is my second story. If you haven't noticed yet, this **_**is_ slash, so if you don't like, don't read. _**

**_Summary: Nick's little sister is having a birthday party. He invites Jeff over to keep him company. Basically just a really, really long drabble. No real plot. :/ whatever... I like it._**

**_Disclaimer: I am not Ryan Murphy. I do not own Glee. Ok? Get it, got it, good. _**

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue - The Phone Call<strong>

"Jeff! Telephone!" Mrs. Sterling calls from the kitchen.

A second later, the sounds from the TV are silenced, and another voice calls from the living room. "Got it!"

Mrs. Sterling hangs up the kitchen phone as her son's voice starts talking into the receiver.

"Hey, Nick." Jeff smiles. Nick always had that effect on him, but only recently has his voice caused butterflies to simulate a hurricane in his stomach. Since about the 21st, as a matter of fact. Since Nick came out to him. Since they had shared their first kiss in Nick's backyard at sunset. Since they officially became a couple.

"Hey, Jeff." Nick responds. "I was wondering what you are doing next Saturday?"

Jeff feels his pace quicken. "Nothing, why?"

"Uh, this is going to sound silly, but, uh, my little sister is having her party on that day, and Mom said I could invite one of my friends over so I'm not stuck in the house alone with ten seven year olds on sugar highs and their overly gossipy mothers."

Jeff laughs. Granted it was not the scenario he was picturing, any chance he gets to spend with Nick, the better. "Of course I'll come. What time is it?"

"The party is at one, but uh, do you think you could come a bit earlier?" Nick asks embarrassedly.

Jeff blushes and turns away from the kitchen just in case his mother was watching. "Uh, sure. So, like 12:30 then?"

"Yeah, that'll be good."

"Ok, see you then. You're house, right?"

"Yeah. See you there."

"Bye." Jeff smiles.

"Bye."

Jeff waits a beat after hanging up and takes a moment to collect himself and his cheesily strong feelings before turning the TV back off mute.

That night at dinner, Jeff suddenly remembers his mid-day phone call. "Oh, Mom, Dad, are we busy on Saturday?"

His mother shakes her head. "Well, your father and I were planning on going to visit your Aunt Terri, and you two are grilling for dinner. Why?"

"Nick invited me over around one. Katie's having a party and his mom said he could bring a friend over too, so he chose me." He explains, trying to keep his pulse under control. _He chose me._

His father nods. "Sure you can go over. I'm so glad you two are friends. He's a good kid."

Jeff blushes and smiles, trying not to make it too obviously love-struck. _Sure. Just friends. But what if we're more?_

Jeff and Nick haven't told their parents about their relationship yet. In fact, Jeff's parents weren't even aware Jeff was gay. Sometimes Jeff thought his mother did, the way she watched Nick and him act around one another, with that suspicious look in her eyes. But she never said anything about it. She was too polite and reserved to ask either of them about it.

There was no question that his father was oblivious. He spent a lot of his time on business trips away from home, only coming home for the weekends, so he didn't get to spend much time getting to know Jeff. Jeff didn't mind too much. Of course he missed his father, but the majority of Mr. Sterling's time away from home was at the same times Jeff was at school, so he wasn't home either anyway. He came home for Christmas and other school holidays, and always took at least two weeks off during the summer to be with his family.

"He is, isn't he?" Jeff mumbles, staring at his plate to avoid letting his parents see his burning cheeks. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his mother look like she was trying hard to keep from saying something, before sighing and taking another bite of chicken.

"Hey, did you see the game last night?" Mark asks his son.

Jeff beams and dives into a very exciting and physical reinterpretation of the game, while his mother watches silently and smiles to herself. _No matter what he is, he'll always be perfect to me._

* * *

><p><strong><em> Please review. Should I continue?<em>**


	2. Chapter 1  Before the Party

_**Hello agian!**_

_**Thank you all who wrote such positive reviews for the prologue! I didn't expect that at all! **_

_**Well, here's the first chapter... hope you all like it! 3**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One - Before the Party<strong>

Jeff pushes his hair out of his eyes as he walks up the front steps to Nick's house. He knocks on the door and hears the doorbell ring inside. He laughs to himself as a happy shriek comes from within, and small feet run to the door. The front door is thrown open by a small, dark haired girl, dressed in a princess gown, with a tiara sitting crookedly on the top of her head.

Katie looks up to meet his eyes, beaming widely, until she realizes who he is. She frowns and crosses her arms. "You're not Abby's mommy." She whines, having obviously been hoping the person at the door was her friend Abigail and her mother.

Jeff laughs. "No, I'm not. I'm here to see Nick. Is he here?" He asks sweetly. He always thought Katie was the most adorable little girl on the planet, and he often found himself wishing for his own little sister because of it.

"Uh huh." Katie nods, and runs back into the house, leaving Jeff on the front step. Smiling to himself, Jeff steps into the house and closes the door behind him. He knows the Duval's wouldn't mind if he did. He was over at their house almost as much as he was at his own, their parents being best friends and all.

He hears voices coming from the living room, and looks up to see Nick walking towards him, a huge smile on his face. "Hey, gorgeous." He greets, kissing Jeff square on the lips.

Jeff ignores the heat from his rising blush and kisses back for a second before smiling "Hey, yourself." He instinctively looks back into the house to make sure no one saw them. They still haven't told anyone yet.

Nick notices and starts leading him further inside by the hand. "Don't worry. Mom and Dad are out getting last minute food because she didn't trust me not to eat it beforehand, and Katie is busy watching Tangled."

Jeff smiles and nods happily. He intertwines his fingers with Nick's, kissing his knuckles as they enter the living room to find Katie engrossed in the TV.

Katie doesn't even turn around when they come in, and Jeff chuckles quietly to himself. He leans on the back of the couch and looks at Nick. "So what are we going to do now?" he asks playfully.

Nick smiles and shakes his head. "Well, unfortunately, my mom has given us fun duty. It's our job to keep the kids occupied for an hour or so outside before they bring out the cake and presents. So we have to set up the games now and supervise when the kids get here."

Jeff raises his eyebrows. "And where will you mom be during all this?"

"Probably inside talking to the other kids' mothers." Nick sighs. "I'm sorry you had to get roped into this, but Mom only just told me this morning, and I couldn't get out of it."

Jeff laughs and pulls Nick closer; making sure Katie was still watching the movie. "As long as I get to spend the afternoon with you, I'm happy."

Nick blushes and grins, tilting his chin up and kissing Jeff quickly on the lips. "We better get started then, because Mom should be back any minute."

Jeff nods and lets Nick step away. "What kind of games did you have in mind?" he asks, putting his hands in his pockets and walking with his boyfriend to the glass doors leading to the back porch.

Nick shrugs. "I don't know. I asked Katie, and she wanted to play princesses with Abigail and Trent. They're her friends from school." He adds, and Jeff nods. "So I don't think we'll have to do much for that. But Mom said that might get old pretty fast, so we should think of something else. Any ideas?"

Jeff walks out the open door to Nick's spacious backyard. It had a good sized patio, a large lawn, and a built in pool to the right of the yard. "Uh, I don't know. Don't kids like to play tag or hide and seek and stuff like that?"

Nick sits down on the soft, green grass, Jeff following suit. "Yeah, that sounds good. Hey, do you remember last year when someone started a huge game of tag at school?" he chuckles.

Jeff throws his head back and laughs. He did remember. Some senior got half the school to start an enormous game of tag at Dalton, with at least ten taggers, with each having a different condition. If John tagged you, you froze. If it was Ryan, you had to lie on the ground until two people lay down on either side of you. For Henry, you had to sit on thin air until someone else sat on your lap and imitated using the toilet before flushing to set you free.

"Yeah, but I don't think it would end well if we tell them to pretend to use each other as toilets. They might take it too seriously." He jokes, and Nick laughs.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he leans back on his hands. "But I think they can handle the freeze tag, don't you?"

Jeff nods. "Yeah, I think so. And maybe that game where you hold hands with the tagger when they tag you, and you run around and make a big long string. You know the one I'm talking about?"

Nick nods. "Yeah, I know it. That sounds good. And if they still need more entertainment, we can improvise."

Jeff smirks. "Or just put on a movie."

"Yeah, that sounds easier." Nick concedes, making Jeff laugh.

"Boys!"

Nick and Jeff turn around to face the door to see Mrs. Duval waving them in. They stand up and walk towards her. "Hello, you two. It's great to see you, Jeff. You are so kind to come help Nick with the kids. Would you two mind helping with the groceries?" she chatters, leading them into the kitchen.

"Sure." Nick says, though he knew it wasn't really a question. He follows her and takes a bag from the counter, starting to put the things away while Mrs. Duval mysteriously disappears.

As Nick is putting away the eggs, his father comes in, arms full of plastic sacks. "Hey Jeff!" he smiles widely in his jolly way. "How are you?"

Jeff smiles back and takes two bags from his arms. "I'm good, Mr. Duval. How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine, Jeff. And please, call me Bob."

"Er, sorry, Bob." Jeff responds, still feeling awkward calling his boyfriend's father by his first name.

"Hello to you too, father!" Nick calls sarcastically from across the kitchen, much louder than necessary.

Bob laughs happily and crosses the room, giving Nick a tight, one armed hug. "Hello, son. And how are you doing?"

Nick laughs. "I'm good, Dad. When do you think people will start getting here?"

His father sets down the rest of the groceries and checks his watch. "Oh, in about ten minutes. Terri's mom called while we were out, and is bringing Terri over a bit early because she forgot she has to go to yoga or something." He makes a face, causing both boys to laugh.


	3. Chapter 2  Dragons and Freeze Tag

**Chapter Two - Dragons and Freeze Tag**

Half an hour later, all the guests are there, and Nick and Jeff have been thrown outside with all thirteen seven year olds.

Nick looks around from his seat on the edge of the porch next to Jeff. "Well, this isn't that hard. They don't look like they need much incentive." He points out; referring to the screaming and running they were doing all by themselves.

Jeff nods. "Yeah. For now. I keep expecting them to all come running to us complaining of boredom and asking for cake."

Nick laughs. "Well, I guess we better enjoy it while it lasts." He stands up and looks down at Jeff. "Do you want a soda?"

Jeff smiles and nods. He usually didn't like it when Nick did things for him, but he figured it was nice to let someone else be the gentleman for a while. And it _was_ his house.

As soon as Nick retreats back into the kitchen, Katie comes running up to Jeff. "Jeffy! Jeffy! Jeffy! Come play with us, come play!" she jumps up and down, already grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

Jeff laughs, unable to resist the little girl's enthusiasm. "What am I playing?"

"We're gonna play princesses, and the boys are the princes, and you're the big scary dragon that tries to eat us!" she explains, leading him over to a tree and dropping his hand. "You're the evil dragon that hides the princesses, and the princes are gonna save us, k?"

Jeff laughs. "Ok." Then, after Katie runs back to her friends, he starts roaring like a dinosaur, making claws with his hands.

"Eeeee!" the girls scream, and run away.

Jeff chases the girls twice around the tree, before the little blonde one shouts "Help! Help!" and all the boys, who had been looking around for long sticks to use as swords, come charging at Jeff, making war cries and yelling at him.

Jeff turns away from the girls, and roars at the boys, blocking their path to their 'princesses'. "ROAR!" he yells, and the boys all come closer. Some charge at him and some weave around his waving arms to get to the damsels in distress. Jeff reaches out with both arms and grabs one of the tallest boys, swinging him around playfully.

The boy shouts and struggles to get free, and one of his friends runs at Jeff from behind and pokes him in the back with his stick.

Jeff makes a strangled sound, and lets the boy down, who crawls away. Jeff falls to the ground slowly, making a big show of dying, letting a few more boys come over and poke him with their sticks.

Finally, Jeff stops making pained dinosaur noises, and lies limp.

When the 'princes' are satisfied, they all yell victoriously, and the 'princesses' all make a show of thanking them, hugging and kissing their cheeks (which the boys promptly rub off viciously).

Jeff opens one eye to see if they are gone, and when he sees they left, he opens both and sits up. He looks around, and catches sight of Nick sitting on the porch, watching him with a bemused smile on his face. Jeff blushes and stands up, making his way over to Nick, relieved when the kids run past him, seemingly forgetting their little adventure a few minutes ago.

"Thanks." Jeff greets, and takes his soda, opening it.

Nick gives him a look, and Jeff rolls his eyes. "What? Your little sister literally dragged me over there and made me be a dragon for their little game. Don't judge me."

Nick laughs and quickly dips down, kissing Jeff's cheek. "I think it was adorable. You make an outstanding dragon."

Jeff laughs, ignoring his blush. "Why thank you. Maybe next time you can join me." He kids, and Nick shakes his head, laughing.

When they finish their sodas, Nick puts them in the recycle, and comes out to find his sister yelling at Terri, with all the others watching them, and Jeff walking quickly towards the group.

Nick quickly makes his way over to them, getting there at the same time as Jeff. "What happened?"

"Terri pushed me in the dirt." Katie whines, and Terri jumps in angrily.

"No I didn't! I was running away from Andy! You got in my way!"

Jeff holds up his hands. "Ok, ok, calm down! Katie, Terri didn't mean to push you, it was an accident. Now, Terri, can you apologize to Katie?"

"But it was an accident!" Terri complains, and Nick kneels down to her eye level.

"Even if it was an accident, you still need to say sorry. It's the nice thing to do."

Terri sighs. "Sorry."

Katie looks at Nick and Jeff, and Jeff stage whispers "Say 'I forgive you'."

Katie looks back at Terri. "I forgive you." she repeats, and Terri smiles. "Let's play a different game. This is getting boring."

Jeff looks at Nick. "How about tag?"

"That's boring!" a sandy-haired boy sighs over dramatically.

Nick perks up excitedly. "What about _freeze tag_?" he asks animatedly, making all the kids 'ooh' and 'ahh'.

While Jeff marvels as how well his boyfriend is with kids, one of them asks "What's that?"

Nick explains the rules, and Katie tells him she has to be the It first, because it is her birthday. Nick grins mischievously and starts to count. "Five, four…"

All the kids scream and run away, and Katie pulls at Jeff's hand, needing to be held back before the time is up.

"… One, GO!" he yells, and Jeff lets her go. The girls all scream and run, while a few of the boys try to get away be climbing the tree.

Jeff and Nick laugh and go back to the porch together.

They talk and watch the game, stopping it every so once in a while to appoint a new tagger.


	4. Chapter 3  The Snake

**Chapter Three - The Snake**

After a while, the game somehow turns into a game of pretend, and Nick and Jeff start talking quietly together.

"So, Jeff," Nick starts in a low voice, and Jeff moves closer to hear him. "When did you want to tell our parents?"

Jeff shrugs uncomfortably. "I don't know. I haven't even told mine that I'm gay yet, so…"

Nick nods understandingly. "It's alright; you can take your time. I remember how hard it was for me, so I understand wanting to wait."

Jeff smiles at his boyfriend, eternally thankful that he was so understanding. "I'm pretty sure my mom knows, though." Jeff continues, and explains further when Nick raises his eyebrows questioningly. "She's just acting really suspicious of us, wanting to know where we're going, and why, and all that stuff. She hasn't said anything yet, though."

Nick nods and looks back at the kids playing in the yard. "I'm pretty sure my mom told her about me, so that might be part of the problem. Not that I'm going to stop hanging out with you or anything, though." He adds cheekily, making Jeff laugh. "Anyway, I'm sure she'll be fine with it. She's cool like that."

Jeff nods and returns his eyes to the kids, frowning a little when he hears a scared scream. He and Nick both sit up, each recognizing that this scream was different from the other, happy, playful screams.

The boys look around and both see where the sound was coming from at the same time. A little girl was running away from a little boy, holding something long and skinny in his hands. "What is that?" Jeff squints, and Nick stands.

"I don't know." He says as he starts to jog over to them, Jeff following.

They corner the kids by the pool, and Nick grabs the girl as Jeff stops the boy, looking down in his hands. "What are you two doing?"

"He has a snake!" she screeches, pointing at the boys hands and hiding her face in Nick's tee shirt.

Jeff opens the boy's hand and takes a closer look. The boy had a snake alright. A plastic one. Jeff takes it from his hands, and looks at Nick. Nick fights hard to suppress a smile, and continues to rub the terrified girl on the back.

Jeff looks at the boy who was looking like he was about to get in trouble. Jeff lowers his voice to a whisper. "You know it not very nice to tease girls."

"But she tried to kiss me!" the boy retaliates, and Jeff laughs.

"Just don't do it again, ok?"

The boys nods, and holds his hand out, wanting his toy back. Jeff shakes his head. "Not right now. Maybe later."

The boy pouts, and stalks off, stomping his little feet. Jeff laughs and him and pockets the plastic toy.

Nick smiles lovingly at his boyfriend, then taps the girl on the shoulder. "Lizzie, look." She shakes her head, and he chuckles a little bit. "Come on, look up. Don't worry, it's gone now, it won't hurt you anymore."

The girl slowly lifts her head, and looks around. She stands up, and turns in a full circle before smiling. "Thank you, Mr. Nicky!"

Nick laughs and pats her back. "No problem, Lizzie. Now go play."

Needing no more incentive, the little girl takes off, joining her friends.

Nick laughs and stands up, brushing the soil off his knees. He turns to Jeff. "You did good."

Jeff blushes. "I tried."

The brunette smiles and starts walking around the pool with Jeff, back to the porch. "You'd make a good big brother." Then, he adds as an afterthought "Or a babysitter."

Jeff smirks playfully. "Only if I'm with you."


	5. Chapter 4  In the Pool

**Chapter Four - In the Pool**

Nick blushes, but before he can answer, a collective yell is heard from across the yard.

Both boys look up to see every single child, boys and girls, charging at them. Nick takes a few steps back, but stops as his feet touch the concrete surrounding the pool. Jeff steps back with him, looking overly frightened, playing the part well.

All the kids stop in a semi circle around them, and Jeff notices they are all holding sticks.

"What is going on?" Nick asks, and the boy who had the snake answers.

"You're the dragons! And we gotta save the princesses!"

"And we're gonna help!" shouts a little blonde girl, brandishing her 'sword' at them.

Nick looks at Jeff and they catch eyes. Reading each other's minds, both boys turn back to the kids simultaneously.

"ROAR!" they yell, making hands into claws and stepping forward and making the kids scream joyfully.

Just when Jeff starts to think they could get out of the dangerous space between thirteen kids with sticks and a pool, the munchkins retaliate.

They push Nick and Jeff back to the water with their sticks. Nick teeters on the edge, and grabs Jeff's elbow to steady himself.

"Ahhh!" the children yell, only a few at first while the rest join in a few seconds later. They all hold out their sticks and save them frantically, still not close enough to actually hit much.

One brave little girl, Abigail, steps forward and 'stabs' Jeff in the leg.

Nick never saw it coming.

Caught up in the drama and imagination of it all, Jeff dies a horrific death, screaming and grabbing his leg with one arm, and Nick with the other, and falls. Backwards. Into the pool.

The boys fall into the still water, splashing loudly and getting all the little kids wet.

Nick comes up spluttering, shaking his head and rubbing the water out of his eyes. Jeff surfaces seconds later, laughing. Nick hazily notices all the children cheering victoriously, and the porch door opening, parents coming out to see what the noise is.

He ignores all this however, to address the dreamy, gorgeous, soaking wet boy in front of him. Jeff shrugs looking sheepish, giving Nick no choice but to forgive him. Nick grins mischievously, and pulls his arm away from Jeff, then pushes it back, splashing him right in the face.

Jeff gasps and wipes his eyes, opening them to see Nick laughing at him. He narrows his eyes playfully, and splashes Nick back.

Soon, everything else disappears, as the two boys start a deadly splash war, laughing and yelling joyfully. Suddenly, Jeff tackles Nick into the pool again, bringing them both underwater. He quickly finds the brunette's lips, kissing him fully.

Before long, Jeff pulls away, allowing them both to surface and breathe. In the second they take to stare at each other, Nick getting over that fact that Jeff just kissed him, in a pool, and Jeff taking in his hypnotizing beautiful boyfriend, a shrill voice cuts through the air.

"Boys!" Nick and Jeff turn around, to see Ms. Duval standing on the edge of the pool, looking frightened. "What are you two doing in there? With your clothes on? Get out!"

Nick swims over to the edge. "Sorry, Mom. We were caught up in the game."

"We killed the dragons!" Katie tells her mother happily.

Ms. Duval sighs as Nick helps Jeff out by the hand. "Well, it's time to come inside anyway. You two stay here while I go get some towels. Kids, you all go sit at the table, we're going to have cake soon."

"_Cake_!"

The kids race to the door, Katie in the lead.

The parents follow, Nick's mom being last. "Don't either of you dare to come in like that. Wait until I

bring you some towels."

"Roger." Nick salutes, and she turns to walk back inside.

Jeff pulls off his shirt, and Nick blushes and looks away. Jeff doesn't notice, and sits down in the edge of the porch, sighing happily. Seeing Nick looking uncomfortable, he frowns. "What's wrong?" Nick shakes his head, and sits next to him. Jeff's frown deepens. "Something happened. What's wrong?" when Nick doesn't answer, he adds sadly "Was it because of what happened in the pool?"

Nick snaps his head up, locking eyes with Jeff's. "Of course not! I- I actually, liked it…" he admits shyly, making Jeff blush. "It's just that…" he pauses, playing with the edge of his tee shirt, wanting to take it off so badly, but feeling awkward doing it now, in front of Jeff.

Of course they had seen each other shirtless before, they had been best friends for years. But not in the last couple of weeks, since they got together. Nick didn't know why, but it felt strange to go shirtless in front of Jeff now.

"You know, you can just take it off." Jeff smirks, reading Nick's mind and making him blush. "It's nothing I haven't seen before. Or am seeing now, considering how wet it is."

Nick looks down and blushes deeper. His damp shirt was clinging tightly to him, showing off every muscle and curve on his chest and stomach. "Oh." He breathes, and Jeff laughs.

"You need help?"

Nick chokes on his own spit, and Jeff pats his back lightly, laughing. "I was joking! Jeez, Nick, I'm not that desperate."

Nick regains his breath and laughs too. "Sorry." He mumbles, then reaches down and pulls the wet fabric over his head.

Before either boys could say anything more, the door opens and Ms. Duval walks out carrying two towels. "Here you go. Dry off and go upstairs to clean up. Bring your clothes down to the laundry room. I think I can dry them before you go home, Jeff, but you will have to borrow some of Nick's clothes until then. I have to go back inside. Come down when you are done."

"Ok."

The woman leaves the two boys alone, and they dry their hair and clothes in a comfortable silence. They pick up their shirts and quickly pad through the living room, going straight to Nick's room.

Once there, Nick sighs and sits on his desk chair, his towel folded under him to keep the chair dry. "So, uh, you can use the bathroom first, I know you need to wash your hair so it doesn't turn green. I can find you some clothes while you're busy."

Jeff nods. "Sure. You can bring me some stuff in there?"

"Uh, if you're ok with that?" Nick asks, flabbergasted.

Jeff smiles and pats down his dripping shorts further. "I invited you, didn't I?"

Nick nods and swallows tightly. "Ok, you go get in the shower, and I'll find you some clothes."

"Ok, I won't be long. Should I leave the water on for you?" he asks on the way out the door.

"Yeah, I'll rinse off." Nick responds distractedly, looking through his drawers.


	6. Chapter 5  Jeff's a Tease

**Chapter Five - Jeff's a Tease**

After a few minutes, Nick has gathered together an outfit he thinks will fit Jeff. Their sizes weren't too dissimilar, but Jeff's growth spurt a few months ago had changed things.

When Nick finds some clothes Jeff will fit into, he gathers them up along with his own, grabs his towel and walks down the hall.

He knocks on the door and sticks his head in. "Jeff? It's me."

"Come on in."

"I'm just going to put them on the counter." He says, trying not to dwell on the fact that only a flimsy piece of plastic is separating him from his very naked boyfriend.

"Thanks. Could you hand me a towel?"

Nick wordlessly grabs a dry towel from under the sink and steps toward the shower, inching it in on the side he knew would be the driest. He feels Jeff take the towel, and he steps back.

A few seconds later, Jeff steps out, wrapped in the towel. He smiles at Nick. "All yours. Do you mind if I change in here, or would you be more comfortable if I took my things into your room?" he asks.

Nick hesitates. "If you don't mind, I don't think my mom would like it if she heard us talking with the shower running."

Jeff nods, chuckling. "Sure thing. See you in a while then." He grabs his loaner clothes, opening the door and silently making his way down the hall to Nick's room.

Nick sighs deeply and strips the rest of his clothes before stepping under the warm stream from the shower. He takes only a minute to wash his hair; he didn't need to do anything else really. He revels in the warm water feeling for a while longer, before remembering Jeff was waiting for him. He shuts off the faucet and steps out onto the mat, grabbing another towel and drying himself off.

He dresses and throws his and Jeff's wet clothes in the sink before making his way down the hall to his room.

He knocks before entering, asking if Jeff is done changing.

"Yeah, come on in." Nick opens the door and finds Jeff standing next to his bookcase, looking at a picture of him and Katie. "When was this?"

"Uh, last summer. We went to Pennsylvania to visit my aunt."

"That's right." Jeff mumbles to himself, before putting the photo down and walking over to Nick, smiling mischievously.

Nick grins back, but asks "What?"

"Have I ever told you how hot you look with your hair wet?" he asks lowly, stepping close to him and squeezing his hips in his large hands, letting his breath ghost over Nick's neck. Nick shivers.

"No." he whispers. He almost bites his lip to keep from whining breathlessly. But instead he gasps as Jeff lets his bottom lip come in contact with Nick's top one; feather light. Nick closes his eyes, and lifts his chin up a minuscule amount, wanting more.

Jeff smirks and moves further away, not letting Nick kiss him. Nick actually does whine this time, and steps closer. Jeff holds him back by his waist, but does come slightly closer. He lets his lips touch Nick's, close enough to feel, but far enough to know it's not a kiss.

Just as Nick believes Jeff is finally going to cease the torture, the blonde whispers "We better go downstairs." He steps away slowly, then crosses the room to Nick's door, leaving the brunette cold and confused.

Nick opens his eyes, blinks, then realizes what just happened. He whirls around, seeing Jeff standing at the top of the stairs, watching him amusedly. He glares at him, turning bright red. "Tease!" he hisses loudly, and Jeff nearly doubles over with silent laughter.

Nick marches over to his tease of a boyfriend and hits him lightly on the arm. "Don't do that! Especially when right before we have to go see other people!"

Jeff snickers. "Sorry. But you're too cute when you blush."

Of course, this only made Nick blush even more, and Jeff laughs longer. Nick glares at him, and Jeff looks pleading. "Oh, come on, don't be mad. I'll make it up to you later."

Nick hesitates, thinking about the offer. "Ok. But it better be worth it."

Jeff grins and whispers "Don't worry. It will." He intentionally lets Nick 'catch him' glancing not-so-briefly at his lips, making the brunette swallow audibly.

"Ready to go downstairs?" Nick asks a second later, clearing his throat.

Jeff smirks and nods, following him down the stairs and into the dining room after collecting their wet clothes from the bathroom.

"Oh, there you two are, I was about to come get you." Mrs. Duval says busily as they walk in to the very crowded, loud dining room. "Go ahead and grab a piece. I'll put these in." she takes their wet clothes. Don't wander too far, presents are in a few minutes." She says quietly, not wanting to start a riot.

It seemed like everyone was trying to cram into the tight space, all talking over each other, naturally with the kids talking the loudest. "Stay here, I'll get you some." Nick tells Jeff, who nods and takes a step backwards, out of the thick crowd.

Nick makes his way across the room to the cake. He reaches over his little sister and dishes out two good sized pieces for him and Jeff then weaves around the kids and parents back to where he left Jeff. When he looks up for the blonde boy, he is nowhere in sight. Nick sighs and cranes his neck, looking back in the room for him, when a voice comes from behind him.

"Right here."

Nick spins around to see Jeff holding two sodas. "Sorry I left, I figured we could use something to drink with our cake."

"Oh, yeah, good idea. Uh," he looks back at the crowd, then asks "Do you want to eat outside?"

Jeff smiles. "As long as we're not going swimming."

Nick laughs and leads the way, letting Jeff open the door for him. "Ok, I promise."


	7. Chapter 6  Sweet Kisses

**Chapter Six - Sweet Kisses**

The boys sit down on the grass, their backs against the tree, facing away from the house. They talk about nothing in particular, just enjoying each other's company, the sun and the cake.

"This is really good, by the way." Jeff comments, holding up on of his last bites.

Nick nods, setting his plate aside, having finished first. "I know. My mom goes to this amazing bakery to get all her cakes. I can't get enough of it. I love it."

Jeff looks down at his plate, and seeing he has two more bites, he takes one of them on his fork and holds it up. "Here."

Nick blushes and looks at Jeff crazily. "What? No, I couldn't eat your cake…"

"Don't think I didn't notice how you gave me the bigger slice, Nick. Now come on, open up." He prods, inching the fork closer.

Nick turns bright red, but opens his mouth anyway, letting Jeff feed him the sweet tasting pastry. Both boys keep eye contact the whole time, Jeff watching Nick curiously and lovingly, and Nick staring back with an adoring and happy look in his eyes.

Jeff pulls the fork out slowly, and Nick keeps his eyes on Jeff's as he chews and swallows. He breaks it for a second, and looks down at their laps, taking the fork from Jeff's hand and lifting the other piece to Jeff's lips, repeating the same action.

After Jeff swallows, he slowly leans forward, and catches Nick's lips in his own.

Nick kisses back slowly, keeping Jeff from getting too into it, in case they were interupted. He feels a hand on his thigh, and leans closer, lifting his chin to kiss him better.

Jeff tasted like cake, sweet and sugary with a hint of vanilla and cream. Nick was sure he tasted the same. He sighs.

All too soon, they had to separate for the pesky need of oxygen. Nick keeps his eyes closed, leaning his forehead against Jeff's, just breathing.

Jeff kisses the top of Nick's cheek, and then leans away, leaving Nick feeling cold despite the warm sun beaming down on them. He compensates by letting his head fall onto Jeff's shoulder and closing his eyes.


	8. Chapter 7  Presents

**Chapter Seven - Presents**

"We should get back inside." Jeff whispers after a while, and Nick shakes his head.

"Don't wanna. I'm comfy here."

"Someone's going to come looking for us, you know."

"But I-"

"Nick, Jeff, come back inside! Katie's waiting for you to open her presents!"

Jeff chuckles and Nick groans loudly. Jeff stands up, holding out his hand to Nick. "Come on sleepy head. Let's not keep your little sister waiting."

Nick sighs but takes his hand, standing up and walking inside with him. They enter the living room to find Katie sitting on her hands, waiting. "Finally!" she throws her hands up dramatically, and grabs the closest present to her, ripping off the paper.

The adults all laugh, while the kids jump up and down from their seats on the floor. Nick and Jeff move further into the room, and find only one more seat on the couch, next to the arm. "You take it." Nick whispers, and Jeff shakes his head.

"It's your house."

"Exactly. Sit." He says more forcefully, pressing a hand into the small of his back, pushing him to the couch.

Jeff reluctantly sits down, but is distracted seconds later by Nick sitting on the arm next to him. He grins and leans his head against Nick's back, not missing when he tenses up. Jeff starts to wonder if he should sit up, but smiles when he feels Nick relax.

Jeff watches the procession of present opening lazily, only half awake.

After all the presents are opened, the mothers all tell their kids it's time to go home, but after much whining and arguing, they agree to let the kids play outside for ten more minutes. Luckily, Nick and Jeff are relieved from chaperoning duty.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue - After the Party**

When every last guest is gone, Nick and Jeff are relieved from cleaning duty.

"You two have helped so much already, you can go relax until Jeff's mom comes to get him." Ms Duval says sweetly after they asked how they could help clean up.

They had gone back to Nick's room, agreeing out loud to talk, but knowing inside their tongues are going to be doing something else.

After almost fifteen minutes of constant kissing, Nick's mother calls them downstairs.

Nick groans, and Jeff isn't sure if it is from the interruption or the kisses down his neck.

Jeff places one more lingering kiss on the brunettes parted lips, and slowly lifts himself off of him. "Come on, we don't want to make people suspicious."

Nick sighs and sits up, smoothing down his shirt and looking around, getting his bearings. He stands, and notices Jeff standing by the door, waiting for him. He stands and steps towards him. Jeff smirks. "Told you I'd make it up to you."

Nick laughs, glad for the diffuse in the tension. "Come on."

The boys walk down stairs and find both their mothers sitting in the living room, chatting. They look up when the boys come in. "Hi, Jeff. How'd it go?" Mrs. Sterling asks with a smile.

"Great. I feel in the pool, though."

Everyone in the room laughs with him, and his mother nods. "Yes, Linda told me. Your clothes are dry, so you can go change now. We can leave after that, your father is grilling."

Jeff smiles and takes his clothes, leaving to change in the downstairs bathroom.

When he comes back, his mother stands up. "I'm so sorry to rush out, Linda, but Jeff's been waiting all week to grill with his father." She says as Jeff hands Nick's clothes back to him.

"Of course, we were glad to have him. He was so good with the kids." Linda smiles sweetly, and Jeff blushes, making Nick smile adoringly at him.

Nick follows Jeff and his mother to the door, waving goodbye as they drive away. Once again, his boyfriend leaves without a goodbye kiss.

Nick sighs and goes back inside, acting like nothing happed.

In the car, Jeff is feeling the same way. Of course he wanted to kiss Nick goodbye. He wanted to kiss Nick anyway. But he hasn't told his parents yet. He had been planning on doing it this weekend, but then Nick invited him over, and he wasn't sure if he would still be allowed to go if they thought he might be inappropriate.

He sighs, watching Nick's street disappear in his rearview mirror.

Maybe next time.


End file.
